ASL Immersion Weekend '94

"Understanding ASL Number Systems"

Featuring
MJ Bienvenu



This weekend will give you a chance to improve your American Sign Language skills, focusing specifically on various Number Systems found in ASL. Students of sign language and ITP programs, interpreters, parents of Deaf or hard of hearing children, special education teachers, and anyone interested in the field of sign language and interpreting will have the chance to improve their skills in a relaxing retreat environment. MJ's workshops, as well as interaction with other participants throughout the weekend, will give you plenty of opportunities to improve your receptive and signing skills. Through exposure, participants will also gain a deeper understanding of Deaf Culture. The Weekend will be conducted without voice, and participants will communicate solely through sign language, facial expression, and body language.

ASL Immersion Weekend '94 is open to anyone interested in American Sign Language or the field of interpreting. This includes students of ITPs and sign language programs, interpreters, families and friends of Deaf or hard of hearing individuals, and special education teachers. MJ's workshop, as well as interaction with other participants throughout the weekend, will offer plenty of opportunities to improve your receptive and expressive skills in a relaxing retreat environment. Through exposure, participants will also gain a deeper understanding of Deaf Culture, and the Deaf community's language: ASL. The Immersion Weekend will be conducted using visual communication; participants will not use their voices.

MJ will share stories with us during storytelling on Saturday night.



MJ Bienvenu, co-director of The BiCultural Center in Riverdale, Maryland, grew up in Louisiana in an all-Deaf Family and attended the Louisiana State School for the Deaf. She attended Gallaudet University where she earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Linguistics. She is a fluent bilingual in American Sign Language and written English

Besides her work at TBC, MJ coordinates a program at Western Maryland College that offers a Master's Degree in ASL instruction. She is the co-author of a five-part videotape series, "An Introduction to American Deaf Culture" and a three-part videotape series, "ASL Numbers: Developing Your Skills." She has conducted hundreds of workshops throughout the country in the areas of ASL Linguistics, American Deaf Culture, and Oppression. MJ is well known as an ASL model, teacher, and advocate for the recognition of Deaf people as a linguistic and cultural minority.

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